Method and Apparatus for Recycling Metal Banding

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus is disclosed for refurbishing used metal banding of the type used to strap together bundles of items such as lumber. The method includes passing the used metal banding through a roller mill designed to guide and straighten the banding and to remove kinks formed where the banding previously was wrapped around corners or other protrusions of the bundle, recovering the straightened banding, and reusing the banding to strap other bundles of items. The apparatus includes a base containing an electric motor and a housing that encloses at least three rollers of the roller mill and special components that direct the banding in and out of the roller mill and expel it to be collected for reuse. The broad concept of the invention is the recovery, refurbishing, and reuse of used metal banding to band bundles of items for shipping.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

Priority is hereby claimed to the filing date of U.S. provisional patentapplication No. 61/322,957 filed on 12 Apr. 2010.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to banding and more specifically tometal banding used to bind bundles of heavier items such as lumber.

BACKGROUND

Banding has long been used to bind or strap together a plurality ofitems such as pallets, boxes, cartons, bundles, bales, and othertransport packaging into a bundle for shipping. Plastic banding, forexample, is often used to bind lighter items or to secure boxes andpackages for shipping. For heavier items such as lumber to be bundledand shipped, plastic banding generally has insufficient strength to holdthe bundle together reliably. For such items, metal banding is generallyused. Metal banding typically consists of narrow strips of metal, whichcan be a low quality or grade of metal, that are wrapped around a bundleof lumber or other heavy items, tensioned with a special purposestrapping tool, and secured tightly by crimping, punching, or withancillary clips or seals.

At a destination, the metal bands of a metal banded bundle of wood, forinstance, are cut off to free the bundle for use. Because of the veryhigh tension imparted to the metal bands during strapping, the removedbands usually have sharp kinks at locations wherein they extended arounda corner or other protrusion of the bundle. This generally makes theremoved bands unwieldy to handle and, more importantly, unusable forstrapping another bundle of items together. Accordingly, removed metalbands are generally considered scrap that must be handled. One way ofhandling scrap bands is to cut them up into small pieces to be loadedonto a truck for transport to a metal recycling location. It has beenfound, however, that this process can cost a company thousands ofdollars per year in employee salaries to cut up the banding and inmaintaining the necessary machinery to carry out the process. Inaddition, many additional thousands of dollars can be expended on newbanding for companies that both receive banded bundles of raw materialsand ship out banded bundles of finished product.

Accordingly, a need exists for a method and an apparatus for recyclingand reusing metal banding that is removed from bundles of heavymaterials such a lumber.

It is to the provision of such a method and apparatus that the presentinvention is primarily directed.

SUMMARY

U.S. provisional patent application No. 61/322,957, to which priority isclaimed above, is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Briefly described, a method of recycling metal banding removed frombundles comprises straightening the banding and removing the kinksformed where, for example, the banding wrapped around corners andprojections of the bundle. The straightened banding then can be usedjust as new banding to strap other items, such as, for instance,finished goods, into bundles for shipping out. An apparatus for carryingout the method comprises a housing having an inlet chute on one side andan outlet chute on the opposite side. Within the housing are threehardened metal rollers consisting of two lower rollers and an upperroller that is slightly spaced from the lower rollers by a distance lessthan the thickness of metal banding. The upper roller is driven by anelectric motor. A guide block is disposed between the two lower rollersto guide metal banding from one roller across to the other and toprevent the banding from curling or snaking its way down between thelower rollers.

In use, used metal banding cut from bundles is fed into the inlet chuteuntil it encounters the space between the first lower roller and theupper roller. The banding is then grasped between the two rollers andpulled into the machine, across the guide block, between the upperroller and the second lower roller, and guided out of the device throughthe outlet chute. Due to the pressures applied by the rollers, thebanding emerges from the device straight with all of the kinks thatpreviously existed in the used banding having been removed. Thestraightened banding can then be re-used in a subsequent bandingoperation to strap bundles of other items or like items together. In oneapplication, used banding from bundles of raw material such as lumber isstraightened and re-used to strap bundles of finished product such asmilled lumber to be shipped out to customers.

Thus, a method and apparatus for recycling and reusing metal banding isnow provided that addresses the problems related to cutting up anddiscarding used banding as has been the practice in the past. Theemployment costs associated with personnel needed to cut up and loadused banding are virtually eliminated (although remnant pieces ofbanding must still be discarded), and much less if any new banding needbe purchased to bundle together additional items such as finishedproduct for shipment. It has been found that thousands of dollars peryear can be saved. These and other features, aspects, and advantages ofthe method and apparatus will be better understood upon review of thedetailed description set forth below when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing figures, which are briefly described as follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus for recycling metal bandingaccording to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view from another angle of the apparatus of FIG.1

FIG. 3 is a plan perspective view of the interior of the housing of theapparatus showing the roller mill mechanism for straightening andrecycling metal banding.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the rollers showing an end portion ofthe guide block that extends between the lower rollers.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the shape of the guide blockillustrated in FIG. 4

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Broadly described, the present invention encompasses the concept ofrecycling metal banding cut from bundles of product and then reusing therecycled banding to strap different bundles of product rather than usingnew virgin banding. A more specific aspect of the invention includes amethod of recycling metal banding for reuse, and an apparatus forcarrying out the method. For the sake of clarity, the context withinwhich the invention will be described here is a commercial fabricationplant where raw wooden boards are received in bundles strapped withmetal banding. The metal banding is cut from the bundles and the woodenboards are milled and fabricated into finished product. The used bandingis straightened according to the present invention and reused to strapbundles of the finished product to be shipped out to distributors,customers, or users. It will be understood, however, that the inventionis in no way limited to this context or scenario and may be applied inany situation where there is a need to recycle or reuse metal banding.In fact, the invention does not require reusing the banding at thefacility where it is straightened but includes, for instance,straightening used metal banding for resale to and reuse by other usersas an income stream producer.

With this in mind, reference is now made to the drawing figures, whichillustrate an apparatus for straightening used metal banding accordingto the invention. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a used bandying recyclingmachine 11 includes a base 12 that houses and an electric motor (notshown). A housing 14 is disposed and supported atop the base 12 andincludes an inlet chute 16 and an outlet shroud 17. The housing 14encloses functional components of the machine 11, to be described inmore detail below, but which include an upper roller 40 (FIG. 3) havinga roller shaft 18 rotatably journaled within the bearing 20 of a bearingblock 19. The upper roller 40 is rotated by the electric motor withinthe base 12 through a belt and pulley (not shown), which is enclosedwithin a protective cowl 23. A switch 13 is mounted on the base 12 foractivating the recycling machine 11. Used metal banding 28 is shown inFIG. 1 being fed into the inlet chute 16 in direction 31. The used metalbanding is seen to have kinks 29 resulting from its having been strappedaround a bundle of lumber. The used banding also may be distorted and orbent in other ways as a result of handling it has endured. After passingthrough the housing 14, the metal banding 28 is straightened and emergesfrom beneath the outlet shroud 17 as a straight, un-kinked, and unbentlength of banding ready for reuse.

FIG. 2 illustrates the recycling machine 11 as seen from anotherperspective and showing more clearly the outlet shroud 17. The bearingblock 22 on the opposite side of the housing 14 is visible in this viewas is the other end 21 of the upper roller shaft 18, which extends intothe protective cowl 23, where it is coupled through a pulley and belt tothe electric motor, housed within the base 12. Thus, activation of theelectric motor turns the shaft 18 and thus rotates the upper roller (notshown) within the housing 14 as described in more detail below.

In FIG. 3, the top plate of housing 14 has been removed to reveal theworking components within the housing. The upper roller 40 is seen tohave shaft 18 rotatably journaled within the bearing of bearing block 19as described above. The upper roller is driven by the electric motor inthe direction indicated by the arrow when the motor is activated. A gaspowered motor may be substituted if portability is needed. Disposedbeneath the upper roller 40 is a pair of lower rollers 38 and 39, which,in the preferred embodiment, are freewheeling and not driven. The inletchute 16 terminates within the housing in an inlet guide 41 thatfunctions to guide the ends of lengths of used banding toward theintersection of or narrow space between the lower roller 38 and theupper roller 40. An outlet guide 42 is disposed at the opposite oroutlet side of the housing 14 just beyond the intersection of or narrowspace between the upper roller 40 and the lower roller 39. This outletguide 42 functions to intercept metal banding as it emerges from betweenthe rollers and direct the banding out of the housing 14 and beneath theoutlet shroud 17, where it can be collected and moved to a storagelocation for re-use. It will thus be recognized that the three rollers40, 38, and 39 form a rolling mill within the housing. Bent and kinkedused metal banding is straightened and refurbished as it moves betweenthe rollers of the rolling mill, whereupon it emerges from the recyclingmachine straight and ready for storage or reuse.

FIG. 4 shows the end portions of the upper roller 40 and the two lowerrollers 38 and 39 within the housing 14. The upper roller is mounted onshaft 18 and, as mentioned above, is rotated in the direction indicatedby arrows 47. Lower rollers 38 and 39 are not directly driven, butrotate in the directions indicated by arrows 48 and 49 (FIG. 5) as aresult of the friction resulting from strips of metal banding beingpulled between the lower rollers and the upper roller. A guide block 46is disposed between the lower rollers 38 and 39 and is welded in placeat its ends to the walls of the housing 14 as illustrated. The guideblock fills the region between the lower rollers 38 and 39 and functionsto deflect metal banding upward as it moves beyond the first lowerroller 38 and thereby to prevent the metal banding from snakingdownwardly between the lower rollers. The guide block also helps todirect the end of a strip of metal banding upwardly toward theintersection of or narrow space between the second lower roller 39 andthe upper roller 38 for completion of the straightening process, therebyautomatically “threading” the machine when a band is inserted.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of the upper roller 40 and the twolower rollers 38 and 39, which rotate in the directions indicated by thearrows. The guide block 46 is seen located between the lower rollers 38and 39 and, in the illustrated embodiment, is trapezoidal in shape. Theguide block might, however, take on other shapes such as triangular,curved or arched, humped, or otherwise as needed to prevent the end of alength of banding from straying and to direct it toward the intersectionof or narrow space between the upper roller 40 and the second lowerroller 39. Used metal banding 28 is seen being drawn or pulled into thespace between rollers 40 and 38, engaging and being deflected by theguide block 46, and being directed out between the upper roller 40 andsecond lower roller 39 as straightened metal banding 32.

The narrow space between the upper roller 40 and the lower rollers mayvary, but preferably is slightly smaller than the thickness of metalbanding to be straightened. In this way, the metal banding is tightlycaptured between the upper and lower rollers as it traverses the rollermill to remove kinks completely and effectively. The spacing betweenrollers is preferably adjustable by, for example, adjusting thelocations of the bearing blocks to accommodate banding having differentthicknesses. Alternatively, upper and lower rollers may be tensionedwith an appropriate spring or other tensioning device into engagementwith each other. In such an embodiment, the rollers are urged slightlyapart against the bias of the tensioning device in response to bandingmoving between the rollers. Such an embodiment may have the advantage ofaccommodating banding with non-uniform thickness and/or automaticallycompensating for different size bandings with different thicknesses.

The invention has been described herein in terms of preferredembodiments and methodologies considered by the inventor to representthe best mode of carrying out the invention. It will be understood bythose of skill in the art, however, that a wide variety of additions,deletions, and modifications might well be made to the illustratedembodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. For example, more than three rollers might be used and therollers might be arranged differently such as having the driven rolleron the bottom and the idler rollers disposed atop the driven roller. Therollers may be narrower or wider than those of the preferred embodimentand may be made of a variety of materials, although metal is preferred.In some instances, it may be desirable to include more than threerollers to provide a desired degree of straightening or to produce arolled straightened banding for storage. These and other obviousmodifications to the embodiments illustrated herein should all beconsidered to be encompassed within the scope of the invention.

1. A method comprising the steps of: (a) receiving a bundle of itemsstrapped together with metal banding; (b) cutting the metal banding fromthe bundle to free the items; (c) straightening the metal banding cutfrom the bundle and removing kinks from the metal banding; and (d)making the straightened and un-kinked metal banding available forre-use.
 2. The method of claim 1 and wherein step (c) comprises movingthe metal banding between rollers of a roller mill.
 3. The method ofclaim 2 and wherein step (c) further comprises moving the metal bandingbetween a first pair of rollers and subsequently moving the metalbanding between a second pair of rollers.
 4. The method of claim 3 andwherein at least one of the first pair of rollers is also one of thesecond pair of rollers.
 5. The method of claim 2 and wherein the step ofmoving the metal banding comprises presenting the metal banding to anintersection between the first pair of rollers and rotating at least oneof the first pair of rollers to draw the metal banding between therollers.
 6. The method of claim 2 and further comprising the step ofengaging the metal banding with a guide block to deflect the bandingtoward the second pair of rollers after having passed between the firstpair of rollers.
 7. The method of claim 6 and wherein the step ofengaging the metal banding further comprises locating the guide blockbetween the first pair of rollers and the second pair of rollers.
 8. Themethod of claim 7 and wherein one of the first pair of rollers is alsoone of the second pair of rollers.
 9. The method of claim 2 and furthercomprising the step of engaging the metal banding as it moves beyond thesecond pair of rollers to direct the straightened and un-kinked bandingin a desired direction.
 10. The method of claim 1 and wherein step (d)comprises re-using the straightened banding.
 11. The method of claim 1and wherein step (d) comprises providing the straightened banding toanother for reuse.
 12. The method of claim 11 and wherein the step ofproviding the straightened banding comprises selling the straightenedbanding to another.
 13. An apparatus for straightening and removingkinks from metal banding, the apparatus comprising: a housing; a firstroller disposed and mounted for rotation in the housing; a second rollerdisposed and mounted for rotation in the housing; a third rollerdisposed and mounted for rotation in the housing; the first roller andthe second roller extending substantially parallel to each other todefine a first pair of rollers; the first roller and the third rollerextending substantially parallel to each other to define a second pairof rollers; a guide block between the first pair of rollers and thesecond pair of rollers positioned to direct metal banding between thesecond pair of rollers after the metal banding moves between the firstpair of rollers; an inlet chute on the housing for receiving metalbanding and directing it between the first pair of rollers; and anoutlet shroud on the housing for receiving metal banding from betweenthe second pair of rollers and directing it away from the housing. 14.The apparatus of claim 13 and wherein the first and second rollers arespaced apart from each other.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14 and whereinthe first and second rollers are spaced apart a distance less than athickness of metal banding to be directed between the first pair ofrollers.
 16. The apparatus of claim 13 and wherein the first and thirdrollers are spaced apart from each other.
 17. The apparatus of claim 16and wherein the first and third rollers are spaced apart a distance lessthan a thickness of metal banding to be directed between the second pairof rollers.
 18. The apparatus of claim 13 and wherein the axes of thefirst, second, and third rollers substantially define a triangle. 19.The apparatus of claim 18 and wherein the guide block is disposedbetween the second and third rollers.
 20. The apparatus of claim 19 andwherein the guide block is substantially trapezoidal in shape.
 21. Theapparatus of claim 19 and wherein the guide block has a surfacepositioned to engage metal banding as it moves beyond the first pair ofrollers, the surface being shaped and oriented to direct the metalbanding toward the second pair of rollers.
 22. A method of doingbusiness comprising the steps of; (a) receiving bundles of materialbanded together with metal banding; (b) removing the metal banding fromthe received bundles; (c) refurbishing the metal banding; and (d) makingthe refurbished metal banding available for re-use to band bundles ofmaterial together.
 23. The method of claim 22 and wherein step (c)comprises removing kinks from the metal banding.
 24. The method of claim23 and wherein step (c) comprises straightening the metal banding. 25.The method of claim 22 and wherein step (d) comprises re-using the metalbanding.
 26. The method of claim 22 and wherein step (d) comprisesselling the metal banding for re-use by others.